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Frugal Home Repairs…

Abby H.

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Drip…Drip…Drip. Just the thought of that sound gets my hackles up! Recently, our master bathroom faucet started to drip. In a matter of a few days, the drip became a tiny stream.

Armed with our trusty Home Depot Repair guide, I looked through the plumbing section and found the section that applied. I headed off to Home Depot to buy a faucet puller.

Sometimes home repair manuals aren’t enough. Thankfully there are so many great videos on Youtube. These videos are often made by professional plumbers or tool/hardware companies. They can be a very valuable resource, especially if you are a visual learner.

This is the video that was the most helpful. Step by step directions, helpful tips, and it was realistic as to how much work it would take.

I am a DIY-er from way back, but even I know my limitations. Working as a team, we were able to take the faucet apart, install the new part and put it back together. Now it’s dripping a lot less.

The problem isn’t 100% fixed, but we’re still working on it. That’s the other thing about DIY home repair- Sometimes it’s not a quick 5-minute fix. Sometimes it’s a multiple-day, multiple trip to the hardware store, watching lots of Youtube videos, googling the same question in different ways.

This was the 3rd home repair I had tackled in the past 6 months. The other two were pretty easy, relativity speaking (replacing the flushing mechanisms in two separate toilets- both were different).

Here is my advice if you endeavor to tackle home repairs:

  • Google is your friend. Look up information before you get started.
  • Youtube can be a lifesaver! Check out multiple videos, especially videos made by professionals.
  • Check out the home repair book selection at your local library. While I linked to the book we used on Amazon, most branch libraries have all sorts of books on home repair.
  • Ask the dudes at the hardware store. The guy in the plumbing section of our local Home Depot told me he was a plumber, but he retired and picked up a couple shifts at Home Depot a week to keep busy. He gave me a bunch of tips, talked me through the process, and congratulated us on doing a job ourselves.
  • Hit up your tribe! Post a request for help on Social Media, shoot an email out to your peeps. You would be surprised how many people have done their own home repairs and may have tools to borrow, tips to share, or can lend a hand.

Talk Back: Are you a DIY Home pro, or are you intimidated by a toolbelt? Brag about your best home repair!

 

 

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Cents of Style Deal- The Perfect Joanna Shirt $10.95 (Free Shipping Too!)

Abby H.

Boyfriend Tee

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Cents of Style is at it again with a great deal! This time with a soft, comfy shirt perfect for cool fall evenings (It’s still hot here in So. Cal during the day).

Joanna Perfect Boyfriend Tee is on sale this week, regularly priced $24.95, this week on sale for  $10.95 & FREE SHIPPING! Make sure to use coupon code JOANNA at checkout.

The sale goes through 11/3/19, and the best part is that the shirts come in Sizes: S-3XL, and are available in 15 colors!

I love the grey and the plum colors, but there are so many incredible, rich colors, I may buy a few more.

Perfect to layering, or pairing with a light scarf.

4 Fresh, Healthy Smoothie Recipes Kids will Love!

Abby H.12 Comments

37f39aabb6da4ee265e271d175c59991.jpgWe have smoothies a lot. It’s a good way to get fruit and/or veggies into the kids without any fuss.

It’s important to have a good blender that can handle fruits/veggies and ice. I love our new Calphalon Blender. I received it through one of my review programs.

We also have reusable shake straws– they are perfect for thick smoothies.

Here are the four recipes that my kids love!

Copycat Strawberries Gone Bananas (from Jamba): 1 cup apple juice (or milk), 1 frozen banana, 1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup ice (or more, depending on how thick you like your smoothies). Blend all ingredients- makes 1 BIG smoothie or 2 kid-sized.

The Big Orange Smoothie: This one is the big kids’ favorite and is a version of one of his Jamba Juice favorites that is no longer on the menu. 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup frozen peaches, 1/2 c. frozen mango pulp, 1/2 cup chopped carrots, 1/2 cup ice (or more, depending on how thick you like your smoothies). Blend all ingredients- makes 1 BIG smoothie or 2 kid-sized.

Green Berry Surprise: The surprise is the spinach. You can’t see it or taste it! 1 cup water & a scoop of protein powder (Or milk of your choice), 1 cup frozen berries, 1 frozen banana, 2 large handfuls of fresh spinach, 1/2 cup ice (or more, depending on how thick you like your smoothies). Blend all ingredients- makes 1 BIG smoothie or 2 kid-sized.

Tropical Freeze: 1 cup juice (I like to mix orange and the pineapple juice from the can if you used canned pineapples until it’s 1 cup), 1 frozen banana, 1/2 c. frozen mango pulp, 1/2 cup pineapple,  1/2 c. frozen peaches, 1/2 cup ice (or more, depending on how thick you like your smoothies). Blend all ingredients- makes 1 BIG smoothie or 2 kid-sized.

The nice thing about smoothies is that you can use fresh or frozen fruit or veggies, any kind of juice, it’s all up to you!

Liquids:

  • Milk: Dairy, Oat, Hemp, Soy, Almond, or other nut milk. Your Choice.
  • Juice (Apple, Orange, and Carrot are popular)
  • Water and a scoop of protein powder
  • Water

Some of our favorite fruits include:

  • Bananas (I peel and slice overripe bananas and put them in ziploc bags, so they are ready to use!)
  • Strawberries- 99 Cents Only and Dollar Tree both stock 12 oz bags of strawberries. If you can’t find them in season, this is a great alternative.
  • Peaches- I usually buy them frozen.
  • Mangoes- 99 Cents Only sells Mango pulp, which is just the good parts of mango formed into a brick and frozen. I love mangoes, but I hate peeling and slicing them.
  • Mixed berries- 99 Cents Only sells mixed berries, which is usually strawberries, blueberries, blackberries.
  • Pineapple- Either canned in its own juice or frozen chunks. Frozen Pineapple is good straight out of the bag. Fresh pineapple is a lot of work to process just to turn into smoothies.

Tasty Veggies we enjoy in our smoothies:

  • Carrots- I usually chop them up small so they are easily incorporated.
  • Spinach- It blends in well and isn’t noticeable.

 

Talk Back: I’d love to hear what your favorite smoothie flavors are!

 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To learn more about how affiliate links are used, please visit my disclosure page.

Free 8×8 Photobook from Shutterfly!

Abby H.1 Comment

Screen Shot 2019-10-21 at 9.42.04 AM.png **This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Woo Hoo! Shutterfly is hooking you up with a free 8×8 photo book with code FREEPB.

Plus, get 50% off almost everything else by Tuesday, Oct 22, 2019.

I love giving photo gifts for Christmas gifts. Grandparents LOVE photo books, photo mugs, and calendars!

I’ve been collecting photos of the kids all year, and I’ll start working on our photo gifts for relatives in the next few weeks!

Great Buys at Dollar Tree!

Abby H.

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A few years ago I wrote about my top ten buys at 99Cents Only, but now that there is a Dollar Tree right next door to our house, I’ve had times to peruse the aisles, and I’ve come up with a list of Dollar Tree purchases that are a great deal!

1- Cards! Most discount stores sell off-brand greeting cards, but Dollar Tree sells Hallmark cards! Heartline by Hallmark are 2 for $1, and Expressions by Hallmark are $1 each! And they have tons of cute options for every and all occasion!

2- Party Supplies. From party favors, disposables (cups, silverware, plates, bowls, etc), DT has you covered. I love that they have plain colored stuff, in addition to themes, including baby shower supplies!

3- Craft Supplies. Y’all know how much crafting we do. Dollar Tree has a lot of good, name brand products. Crayola crayons, markers, colored pencils were spotted on my recent trip.  I also like their construction paper, pom poms, chenille stems (aka pipe cleaners), white glue, and small craft kits.


4- Hair accessories. Hair elastics, barrettes, brushes, combs, headbands, you name it! Besides the store brand, you can also find Goody brand, among others.

5-Kitchen Towels, Hot Pads, etc. If you are looking for a quick kitchen makeover on the cheap, Dollar Tree has a lot of great kitchen linens and kitchen decor. For $20, you can give your kitchen a little facelift without a trip to Home Depot!

6- Frozen Veggies. KT Farms and Pictsweet are two of the usual brands that DT stocks. Most bags are 12 ounces, which is a great size for $1!

7- Juice boxes and powdered drinks My kids like the small Juicy Juice juice boxes, so .25 or less each is my price point for juice boxes. Dollar Tree and 99 Cents Only both stock these. The powdered drink sticks sometimes vary by store, but we love the strawberry lemonade the best. And as a bonus, a few times a year there are coupons available. Oh, yeah, Dollar Tree accepts coupons too. Their coupon policy can be found here.

8-Push up/freezees/bolios pops. Whatever you call them, most Dollar Tree locations stock these in different varieties. Our local Dollar Tree sells Sonic Drive-in brand, and two types of Kool Pops. 10 pops in a box for $1 is a great deal, and it’s my price point (or less), so we stock up monthly.

If you need a lot of a specific item, you can order them from Dollartree.com, and have them shipped for free to your local store. Saves time, and shipping fees!

I’ve been shopping at Dollar Tree for years, and I’m stoked to be working with their affiliate program. Please be aware that if you click on any of the links above, I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase. You can see my disclosure policy here.

Fetch Rewards: 4,000 Per Referral!

Abby H.

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Win 100,000 bonus points! 

Tomorrow (10/17) through Wednesday (10/23), Fetch Rewards increasing your bonus to 4,000 points* per referral.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Invite your friends to Fetch Rewards with your referral code. Use my code ND2TB and find the app wherever you get apps.
  2. Your friend enters your code and scans their first receipt.
  3. You’ll get 4,000 points, and your friend also gets 2,000 when they complete their first receipt scan!*

*In order for you to qualify for the increased referral bonus, they must enter your referral code and complete a valid receipt from 10/17/19 through 11:59 PM PT on 10/23/2019. After 11:59 PM PT on 10/23/2019, the referral bonus will expire.

 

 

Any grocery store, mass merchandiser, dollar or 99 cents store, or convenience store receipt can be scanned for points!

Such a Deal! Sam’s Club – Join for $45 Get $50 in Savings

Abby H.

If you have Sam’s Club location near you, check out this awesome deal!

Join for $45 and get $50 in savings.

GET A $20 GIFT CARD AND $30 IN INSTANT SAVINGS:*

  • Member’s Mark™ prepared entrees ($9.98 avg retail value): $9 off each; any two
  • Member’s Mark™ Soups ($5.98 avg retail value): $5.50 off each; any two
  • French Bread or Baguette ($2.98 avg retail value): FREE, Limit 1
  • Must scan free item to apply Instant Savings.

I’ve heard that our local Sam’s Club is a great place to save money!

Cents of Style: Fall Sweaters WITH POCKETS!!

Abby H.

Yup, you read that correctly- Sweaters with POCKETS! I don’t know why, but I love functional pockets.
Graphic Sweatshirt

With five designs to choose from in sizes XS-3XL, these babies won’t last long. Now through 10/21/19 they are just $24.95 and FREE Shipping w/code: SNUGFALL

This is the one I ordered:

Graphic Sweatshirt

I love the different styles and sizes that Cents of Style offers!

Fashion Friday: Sweaters 50% Off Lowest Marked Price + FREE Shipping

Abby H.

Sweaters

Friday means Fashion Friday from Cents of Style!

The cutest sweaters all set up and ready to go!!

These sweaters are to die for, meeting all of the fall fashion needs…ease, comfort, and style! Today until Tuesday at midnight your readers can take 50% off the lowest marked price + FREE shipping! There are 12 styles to choose from (one for each day of the week, with 5 extras just in case! Haha) and starting at $19.97 SHIPPED! These styles are new and on-trend!

Remember to use Coupon Code: SWEATERS50 at checkout.

Here are a couple of my favorite styles:

Sweaters

Sweaters

Sweaters

Make Your Own Book With Blurb!

Abby H.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Have you been collecting family recipes for years? Time to turn the scraps of paper and old recipe cards into a family recipe book with Blurb!

Blurb easy it is to create a travel book, memoir book, wedding book, children’s book and so much more. Blurb makes it easy to self-publish a book to last a lifetime whether it’s for personal or professional needs.

Photo books, memoir books, or cookbooks make great holiday gifts!